A non-profit organization dedicated to the eradication of all student loan debt through activism, education, and legislation;
because student loan debt is dangerous to the US economy and to the health and well-being of individual Americans and their families.
CRYN JOHANNSEN, Founder & Executive Director

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Here is a snippet from my latest piece, which was published by the Guardian today:

Amy Diede homeschools her two children – Caleb, 9, and Ashley, 8 –
and is married to a devoted husband and father, Christian. Even though
Amy has a master's in psychology, and until recently was a professional
herself, Christian is now the breadwinner for the family, working as a
cardiovascular nurse on short-term contracts across the country.

At
the moment, the Diede family lives in California. Christian wants to
own a home again, but for now they are a roaming family whose home is a
400-square-foot RV. A big part of the problem is Amy's student loan
debt. It does not merely affect their bank statement, it has found its
way into their daily thoughts and life. Together, Amy and Christian owe
over $82,000 in student loans.

9 comments:

Anonymous
said...

In her article, Ms. Johannsen mentions that Amy Diede's younger brother, who didn't go to college, is in a better financial situation than she is. Maybe the answer to the problem of student debt is for fewer people to go to college?

@12:21 Here's a thought that will hopefully provoke some discussion: Naivete about the value of education has allowed colleges and universities to charge inflated prices for a shoddy product. Holding student debtors to the original terms of their loans is necessary because it will give people starting college now an incentive to demand education that is affordable and relevant. What do the members of the indentured educated class think? Does the fact that you are being made to suffer for the moral improvement of future generations make you feel any better?

I keep asking myself what it is that this snarky anonymous poster is getting out of spending his or her valuable time following a blog that clearly does not affect him or her. I'd much rather spend my time helping others or enjoying my friends and family than reading a blog that doesn't concern me. Only a miserable person enjoys the sport of trying to make others feel bad.

If you don't like Cryn, her upcoming book or her cause, then be an adult about it and stay away. She has been a godsend to us and given us a voice through our oppression that most Americans in the modern day cannot comprehend. Go away.

Maybe Mr. Infinity would benefit from some student debt himself. It would inspire him to spend his time more productively by working rather than Internet bullying. He certainly has more time on his hands than I do.

@7:25 Your right, I am kind of an asshole. On the other hand I truly believe that you young people ought to stop bemoaning the way the world has treated you and get on with your lives. The world doesn't work the way your parents told you it does, to large extent it never did. You need to learn how to survive and complaining will not help you do that.

Cryn Johannsen

Cryn Johannsen, Founder and Executive Director of All Education Matters, Inc., is the author Solving the Student Loan Crisis: Dreams, Diplomas, and a Lifetime of Debt(New Insights Press, 2016; available now on Amazon inpaperback andKindle).

She has spent many years in academic environments, giving her an insider's understanding of the varying forms of educational institutions and how they function. Ms. Johannsen worked for an academic publishing company, but now advocates for individuals who are struggling or unable to pay off their student loan debt on Capitol Hill.

In addition to her previous employment, Ms. Johannsen has been a student at multiple levels at multiple institutions, beginning at a community college, graduating with honors from the University of Kansas, and receiving MAs from both the University of Chicago and Brown University (where she also participated in an exchange scholar program with Harvard). She is an experienced researcher and instructor, and has focused her own education on the study of History and the Social Sciences.

Ms. Johannsen is available to give talks and do workshops on this critical topic.

Ms. Johannsen's book has been reviewed by the New York Review of Books in Rana Foroohar's article "How the Financing of May Lead to Leader." In addition, intellectuals, such as Henry Giroux and Andrew Ross endorsed it.

This blog, All Education Matters, will be digitally archived by the Library of Congress in November of 2017.

About me

Author of Solving the Student Loan Crisis: Dreams, Diplomas & a Lifetime of Debt (New Insights Press) - now available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle.
Founder and Executive Director of All Education Matters(AEM), a 501(c)(4); I am a freelance journalist for The Huffington Post, The Loop 21, and Hypervocal. My work has appeared in USA Today, Truthout.org, The New England Journal of Higher Education, etc.
Recipient of journalism grant from the Economic Hardship and Reporting Project (EHRP) to cover a story about suicides and student loan debt (published by the Huffington Post and on the EHRP site; edited by Barbara Ehrenreich and Garvy Rivlin) - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/c-cryn-johannsen/student-loan-debt-suicides_b_1638972.html